Infinitive with zu: ohne…zu, anstatt…zu, um…zu
Explicação
"He left without saying goodbye." German handles this with three infinitive constructions that appear in any B1 text — and that learners routinely replace with heavier full clauses.
All three require the same subject in both halves. Different subjects rule the construction out.
| Construction | Meaning | Example |
|---|---|---|
| um…zu | in order to | Er arbeitet viel, um Geld zu sparen. |
| ohne…zu | without doing | Er ging weg, ohne sich zu verabschieden. |
| anstatt…zu | instead of doing | Sie sah fern, anstatt zu lernen. |
With separable verbs
zu slots between the prefix and the stem: aufzustehen, anzurufen.
⚠️ Watch out
✗ um zu aufstehen
✓ um aufzustehen
With separable verbs zu goes inside the word, not before it.
🧠 Same subject → infinitive with zu. Different subjects → damit. In separable verbs, zu lives in the middle.
Exemplos
Sie verließ das Meeting, ohne ein Wort zu sagen.
She left the meeting without saying a word.
Er kaufte ein neues Handy, anstatt das alte zu reparieren.
He bought a new phone instead of repairing the old one.
Sie steht früh auf, um den Zug nicht zu verpassen.
She gets up early so as not to miss the train.
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